


The Hunter and the Mage

by AckrelCraw



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Forgotten Realms
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Fantasy, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Wizards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25215904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AckrelCraw/pseuds/AckrelCraw
Summary: A hunter stalks a beast lurking within the High Wood that has been scaring off the prey he hunts for coin, but when he finds a mysterious boy fending it off with a sword and shield too heavy for him to carry, things start to get out of hand.
Relationships: Felaern/Ehrendrud
Kudos: 2





	The Hunter and the Mage

**Author's Note:**

> Heya! Since I felt inspired I decided to write a story involving two characters I made for two separate DnD campaigns as they both head off on their own adventures. However, they both have a common starting point so I wanted to flesh that out. While I do use many names + locations + ideas from the Forgotten Realms and DnD 5th Edition in general, a lot of this stuff is also edited/altered to fit the needs of my story. As a disclaimer, I don't own any of the concepts created by Wizards of the Coast. Comments + criticism as well as kudos are what keep me going, so please leave some if you can : )

Leaning over the tracks of a wild creature on the outskirts of the High Forest, Felaern ran his finger around the border of a deep print that betrayed the creature’s immense weight. The loose earth was tossed and scattered, violently splayed across the surrounding ground and leaving a deep gouge in the forest floor that made the print unidentifiable. Noontime sunlight filtered through thick layers of overhead foliage, dappling over the mad charging of whatever beast had barreled through and ground up the rest of the plant life in its path. A few leaves on low-hanging branches were smoldering, an opaque dark smoke drifting off into the breeze. The bronze-skinned wood elf glared forward with squinted eyes, shading them with his hands as he stared with a pout.

“So, you’re the one who’s been scaring off all my game. Thought you could get away with disturbing my only line of profit did you? Well think again, because Felaern Fennorin is on the hunt, and he doesn’t back down.” His section of the forest surrounding the solitary wooden hut he lived in had been devoid of the prey he hunted and sold for the past two weeks, and his coin purse was starting to look a lot less happy than he would have comfortably preferred. It had already taken him days just to find these tracks, and at this rate…

"Well, let's hope you're just a big ol' flaming bunny rabbit and not something bloodthirsty and unstoppable." 

He crept alongside the trail soundlessly, carefully stepping around dry leaves with soft footfalls as songbirds covered his steps with their nervous chirruping. Anxiety bubbled in his chest and he bit his lip, pulling his patchwork hide armor tighter around himself to keep out his mind’s unhelpful and intrusive suggestions. His brain was busy suggesting every terrifying possibility of what sort of beast he could be walking right in to. He’d heard of giant acid-spitting burrowing insects called ankhegs hunting further in the woods and apparently hill giants had even started becoming more active nearby. He didn’t think the tracks matched either of them, and he doubted they were hot enough to set live leaves on fire. However, that didn’t stop him from imagining himself melting until he was just a pile of smooth white bones stripped clean of flesh. A shudder ran through his spine at the bone-chilling thought. 

The hunter paused after half an hour of his tedious, stealthy pace to sit against a tree trunk and take a draft from his water flask, releasing a drawn-out, tense sigh. He glared at the roughed up trail his quarry had left behind and grumbled to himself. “Whatever this thing is, it’s got more stamina than me, that’s for sure. Just my luck, I decide to move out to the middle of nowhere and I’m already dealing with Melora knows what. If you’re out there, wildmother, I sure hope you know what you’re doing with all of this. If I end up turning into a skeleton and getting the marrow sucked out of my bones, this is all your-”. A high-pitched scream pierced the forest and shook his nerves, causing Fel to jump with fright as fight-or-flight (hyphenate fight-or-flight) kicked in. It was coming from the south, further into the forest and…

“Oh no, the trail!” Throwing stealth out the window, Fel bolted off along the tracks, wind rushing through his unkempt dark hair as his eyes darted between the prints and the forest ahead of him. Further ahead, the trees grew thinner and sunlight poured between the sparse leaves until it shone fully upon him as he burst through a grassy clearing. The crumbling stone walls of long dilapidated buildings dotted an open landscape of green, flattened earth. A wild squeal rang out clear through the air and Fel could finally see the beast in the distance. (use a colon instead of a comma here or start a new sentence) A massive boar almost seven feet from tall from hoof to shoulder pummeled its way through a collapsed cobbled pillar, instantly scattering it into dust. Bright orange markings flared up along its puffing snout and across its muscled back, dancing madly as the boar reared up on to its hind legs and roared with a grating rumble that forced Fel to clutch at his ears to keep the noise from rattling against his skull. 

Panicking directly across from the boar was the source of the scream, a human boy loosely flailing about a steel long sword in front of him as he continued to yell. “You better stay away from me you big stupid pig! I’m warning you I can definitely use this thing and I will most certainly cut you up if you come any closer!” His proclamations were muffled by a heavy silver kite shield that covered his face. Cast on to the shield was the symbol of a bronze oak tree, but Fel was unable to make out any more detail with how much the stranger was shaking trying to lift it. Fel ducked over to the nearest rock pile, pressing himself against it as he pushed down the adrenaline pumping through his blood and tried to collect himself. He bit his lip tensely, muttering under his breath, “Come on, why aren’t you running already idiot? It’s suicide to take on a two ton battering ram like that all on you own, what are you doing?!”

The giant boar pawed at the ground with a huff as a thick grey vapor puffed through its nostrils, taking two steps back before charging head first. The bumbling guy was frozen in place, his expression stricken in terror as he held the shield in front of him meekly. “Move you weirdo, move!” he mentally urged, praying for him to flee, but he wouldn’t budge. There was no point in intervening; Fel knew that if he got in the line of sight of that boar, he’d be the first one to become ground pork. Another few seconds and the pale boy would be trampled. He could leave now and no one would ever know, but...

“Oh fine, I’ll do it, okay! Over here, ugly, get a taste of boomerang!” His muscles leapt into action before he could make the fully conscious decision and he drew his wooden boomerang, lobbing it with a curved throw. It whirled through the air and cracked the boar directly on the forehead, causing it to squeal out in pain as it went tumbling over from the shock and crashing into the ground inches away from mystery scrawny guy. The boomerang arched back towards Fel and he caught it in his hand as he went running towards them calling out as loud as he could muster: “Run, dumb-ass, while you still have a chance!”

Still shocked from not being dead, the sandy-haired boy stammered as he attempted to piece together coherent words. “I- um- ahhh- uhhhh- I, I have to kill this thing though.” He limply held up his sword, gesturing to the wiry-haired hog still writhing on the ground.

Fel threw his hands in the air with exasperation, disbelief painted on his face. “Is your head full of rocks?! Look at you, you can barely hold those things up let alone fight with them. What did you expect to do, make it pity you to death?” 

“Hey, I’m trying my best okay, this is really hard!” Mystery boy scuffed the ground with his feet, cheeks puffing up as he glared at Fel, embarrassed but unmoving.

Out of the corner of his keen eyes, Fel noticed the boar was starting to recover, pulling itself back on its feet with a huff. He turned back to this guy who was starting to get on his nerves, grimacing.

“Look here, damsel in distress, if you don’t get your butt in gear and hightail it out of here in the next ten seconds, you’re going to get yourself killed, and I don’t wanna have that seared into my memory for the next four hundred years I’m alive, so move it!” Fel stepped forward to grab mystery boy’s shoulders and drag him out of here if he had to but instead he got his hands slapped away as mystery boy pulled back.

“I have to kill it, I can’t go back home until this boar is dead, you don’t understand. If I can’t do it then I’m not worthy of anything. It’s not your problem so if you’re just going to keep getting in my way then go away!” He started marching towards the hog, dragging the sword behind him with a dead serious expression. Before he could make it past Fel, the hunter grabbed the sword and shield out of the pale boy’s hands, grumbling.

“The second you walked into my neck of the woods you made it my problem unfortunately, so I’m taking over this operation whether you like it or not.” He squared off against the boar, meeting its beady black eyes burning with rage as he gulped down the instinct to run. The sword and shield felt uncomfortably familiar in his hands as he spread his feet, knees slightly bent with his shield facing off to the side, longsword forward. A piercing “wryyyyyyyy” crashed through the air as the boar stampeded towards Fel, seeking its revenge for the welt on its head. He held his ground, bouncing on his heels until at the very last moment he leapt out to the side and slashed out with the sword, goring the hairy beast along its flank. Sizzling crimson blood gushed out of the wound and splattered against the grass as it screamed out in a frenzy. Just as planned, the boar wasn’t able to slow its momentum in time and smashed against the stone wall behind him. The wood elf winced as he saw its skull crash into the remnant of the building, jostling its head to shake off the pain.

“Hey!” annoying guy called out, stomping his feet on the ground. “That’s my job, I’m supposed to be the one killing it!” He went to run after Fel to grab the sword but stopped in his tracks when he saw the boar turning back around for round two, stepping back. “Actually um, you can do this one, and then we can switch after the next run through.”

Fel let out a pent up breath, bouncing up and down to keep the blood pumping as he twirled the sword in his hand. “That’s the right answer, lanky boy. Alright, let’s tango!” Without hesitation the boar came storming back in with a thundering rumble that shook Fel through his bones. He waited, waited, then dodged out of the way as he plunged the sword into the boar’s hindquarters, almost getting dragged behind as he held onto his weapon for dear life. With a cloud of dust, the boar went careening into another pillar, protesting with a piercing screech that squeezed his brain. Without open hands to muffle the sound, the stunning screech pressed further and further into his head. He was barely able to gasp for breath as his legs turned to jelly beneath him and he crumpled on to his knees. His sword fell limply from his hands as it clattered against the ground and he forced his head up to see the boar glaring at him with bloodthirst, its belly glowing a blazing bright red. Of course it wasn’t vapor, it was smoke. 

“Come on come on come on get up Felaern, get up!” He urged his legs to move but they wouldn’t respond, locked in place underneath him. “Melora, I need you right now more than ever, please…” With only the shield to defend himself, he curled behind the silver plate as he prepared to be grilled by pig breath. The boar cried out with a guttural roar as it inflated with white hot magic, flames licking out of its nostrils. Another ear-piercing roar rang out and a stream of sizzling flames burst forth crashing towards him, igniting the air itself. Fel clenched his eyes, making a final prayer to Melora.

Silence permeated the atmosphere, an unsettling stillness clinging to his surroundings. His nerves were numb, left to float in free space. Eyes still shut, he mustered the courage to pipe up from his crouched position. “Can I open my eyes yet? I don’t know if you’re allowed to see in heaven or anything, there are all those angels with blindfolds on and stuff I know. Wait a second, that’s presumptuous of me, am I in Hell? Look I just stole one sweet roll okay, that’s not any reason to put me in-”

“Could you shut your mouth already and get up?! It’s going to start recharging any second now.” Fel peeked an eye open and was pleasantly shocked to see that he was indeed not in one of the nine hells nor was he a seared steak. Instead, mystery boy was standing in front of him, glowing arcane sigils sizzling with stored energy at his fingertips. He spread his fingers in a wide fan and waved his hands in a broad stroke towards the floor, a cloud of fog billowing from the magic runes. The whole area ahead was impossible to see through, giving them the perfect cover to make a strategic retreat behind a crumbling wall, huffing and panting. They pressed their backs against the cover, Fel still trying to process how he was alive. 

He turned to mystery boy exclaiming in as quiet of a whisper as possible “hold on a second you’re a magic user?! You’ve been able to use magic this whole time and you didn’t think to mention it once?! Why in the hells are you using a sword when you can do something like that?” 

The mage stumbled over his words, tilting his head away to avoid direct eye contact and instead opted to stare at a particularly shiny pebble a few feet away. “I, I’m not supposed to be relying on magic. If I can’t fight with my own strength then there’s no point.” Fel was about to tear into this guy for getting so sappy in the middle of a life or death situation but bit his tongue back when he noticed that his hands were covered in nasty looking burns. 

“Your hands…” His hands drifted forward to examine them, but the hunter pulled back, his touch having already been rejected before. Instead he shoved them in his pockets as he peaked over their hiding spot, no sign of the boar having left the cloud yet.

The mage’s fine deep blue tunic ruffled as he adjusted to a more comfortable position, taking care to keep his hands from grazing any surface. His voice was fragile, as though it would fall in to pieces with a single cruel word. “I’m sorry I dragged you in to this, I understand if you want to leave a weirdo running around with a sword he can’t use behind in the woods, I won’t hold it against you. The fog cloud should be up for another five minutes, plenty of time for someone as fast as you to escape.”

Fel was stunned speechless, his mouth agape to the point he was worried he’d swallow a fly. He shut it before that could happen, shaking his head solemnly. “To be honest, I needed a way to kill that smoking pig anyways and there’s no way I woulda been able to take on a behemoth like that on my own. Consider it a favor on your part and we’re even, how about that?”

The mage’s lips were pulled tight as though he wasn’t convinced, but from the way his eyes lit up Fel knew that he was glad to have someone on his side. The mage ruffled himself up and sat poised, collecting himself with a deep breath. “Alright, in that case I have a plan.” He leaned in to whisper his machinations, warm breath tickling Fel’s sensitive ears. He stifled a giggle but managed to distract himself by running the plan over in his head again and again, committing it to memory. 

Once he repeated the plan back the mage nodded in confirmation, eyes angled with determination. He held up his marred hand to set the signal, waiting for the last few seconds of his concentration on the fog cloud to pass. Fel had to admit: when this guy actually knew what he was doing, he wasn’t such a bumbling idiot. He actually looked pretty cool, in searing pain from his burns yet focused on his goal above all else. He wondered what might happen after this is all done, if they survive that is. "No, there's no time for that," he chided himself, kicking his brain back to the task at hand. 

"Ready?" the mage asked, giving the hunter talking to himself a curious look.

Fel nodded resolutely. "Of course, never felt more prepared in my life to take down a colossal, fire-breathing swine."

He shrugged, apparently satisfied with Fel’s answer. "Good. On the count of three, then."

From within the swirling fog cloud, Fel could hear the snuffing of the boar as it stumbled around disoriented. Its one track mind was confused about why it couldn’t see the creatures that were so rudely poking it. 

“One.”

The mage’s breathing started to pick up in sync with Fel’s as they both realized what they had gotten themselves into.

“Two.”

When he thought about it, the whole situation was kind of ridiculous. Despite all of the mortal danger they were in, Fel couldn’t help letting a little smile poke through.

“Three!” 

The fog cloud dissipated and scattered in to the air, the signal for Fel to go leaping into action as he vaulted over the fallen pillar and went in to a full sprint. He started banging together his sword and shield with a resounding “clang clang clang” while calling out “hey you big dumb hairbrush, come get a piece of this fine specimen.” That instantly regained the boar’s furious attention and it wasted no time in inhaling, engorging its belly with fresh, combustible oxygen. Once it was full and glowing with heat just as predicted it released its stunning screech, giving Fel time to toss his sword and shield behind a wall and clasp his hands over his ears to block out the worst of the terrifying cacophony. He used the speed from his sprint to throw himself forward and cover himself with the cobbled wall, crashing into the ground without his hands available to brace himself. With just a second to spare he felt a wave of heat smash against the wall on the other side, a blistering force that blew back the hairs on his arms but thankfully hadn’t singed them off completely. He scrambled to grab his sword and shield, scooping them back in his hands before making a mad dash away from the wall as fast as his legs could carry him. The rumbling hoofbeats of the boar followed, catching up to him and shaking the dirt beneath his boots. With the sound of thunder cracking the boar burst through the blackened stones of the wall, tossing its head with blood in its eyes as it came barreling towards him in a heavy gallop. Practically on his heels, Fel shouted out to their previous hiding place: “now!”

Popping up from behind the pillar, the mage finished chanting the verbal components to the spell he had already started casting. Deep in concentration with his eyes squinted shut as his mind ran through the complex ancient magical language, he curled his fingers into a claw with his palm up and finished the spell by thrusting his hand up over his head. The rumbling of the soil shuddered and grew before it started splitting beneath Fel’s feet. With a leap, he pushed himself off the ground just in time as the earth exploded upwards with pillars of clay right under the pursuing boar. Caught by surprise, the swine was flung into the air, catapulting forward with its own momentum right over Fel’s head as his eyes followed the hog’s path in a mix of shock and wonder. A cloud of dust exploded from the impact and, with an unpleasant cracking sound, the boar landed directly on to its spine. Wriggling its stubby legs in the air and rolling about frantically, the mage waved his arms equally frantically, jumping up and down. “Come on, go get it before it gets up!”

Fel turned his head back around with his hands up by his shoulders, exasperation plastered across his expression. “Well duh, obviously!” He took five paces backwards, eyes carefully tracking its swinging hooves as it slammed back and forth in to the ground. A hit from any of those would probably snap his ribs like the scattered twigs he found trampled on the trail here. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment to collect himself. He pushed off the ground with a running start and tossed the shield aside with a metallic clatter. He dug both hands into the leather grip of his longsword as he weaved between the volley of hooves, letting out a resounding battlecry. Stabbing between thick muscle, he plunged the sword directly through the heart of the boar, twisting the hilt as he pressed further. The swine’s squealing grew more frantic and it took all of Fel’s constitution to draw the longsword without collapsing from its frightening cries pounding against his ears. The silver blade was covered in blood that immediately ignited when exposed to the open air, a sight that brought a satisfied smile to his face. 

From behind him however, he heard the startled shouting of mage boy as he called out, “Run! It’s gonna explode!” The boar began to expand rapidly, its thick hide splitting as it was unable to contain the immediate internal combustion. With that terrifying realization Fel turned tail and began sprinting as quick as his legs could take him, lungs pumping as they desperately tried to keep him running, but he was already exhausted from all of the fighting. He was faltering, his limbs failing him, and he could feel the heat on his back as the hog’s body was barely able to contain the igniting liquid boiling inside. A crackling “kakoom!” ruptured out as the reaction climaxed and a roiling cloud of flying pig guts and fire exploded outwards. 

He felt himself get pushed to the ground as mage boy landed on top of him, shouting an arcane word. The air around them rippled and warbled and the fire glanced over them harmlessly as they were shielded from the blast, blessedly unroasted. The only warmth Felaern felt was from the mage pressed on top of him with his eyes squeezed shut and mouth pulled tight, his hands clamped in a death grip on the hunter’s arms. The flames roared above them, the final violent death rattle of the boar. As a stillness settled over the area once more Fel was aware of the mage’s elbows pushing uncomfortably hard into his stomach. His face was much closer to Fel’s than he was expecting to the point that he could feel the mage’s short, well-groomed hair tickle his forehead and despite the circumstances and without the proper distraction Fel let out a little chuckle, the tips of his pointed ears growing warm. A relieved sigh finally escaped his lips and he released the tension in his muscles, sore and exhausted. 

The mage blinked open his eyes with a slightly befuddled expression, his brain still gathering its bearings. Once he had realized that he was still alive, he let his head fall limp against Fel’s neck, still trying to catch his breath. They laid there on top of each other silently, a gentle breeze greeting them in the calm after the firestorm. Fel tried to find something to say that could break the silence, but his mind offered him no words. Instead he opted to stare up at the clouds. It felt strange to him that with all of the action down on the ground the sky was undisturbed, glowing in its cheery bright blue as cotton puff clouds drifted by carelessly. He felt the mage speak into the crook of his neck with a hoarse voice, worn down from the constant yelling and magical chanting.

“I’m sorry you almost died back there, I want to say about four times? Wait, maybe it was five. I don’t think it would be six, you definitely had everything under control when you dove behind that wall.” The mage paused for a moment to consider the logistical requirements for a near death experience before shaking his head, hair brushing against Fel again. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry you had to put your life on the line for some random brat in the middle of the woods.” 

The smell of burning, crackling grass filled the space after his words, dragging Fel’s head out of the clouds. The hunter wriggled a hand out from under the mage pinning it down, limply patting him on the back. Recognizing the gesture, the wizard rolled off of Fel and landed beside him on his back, slowly seating himself cross-legged. Using his elbows to support himself the hunter leaned up, sighing more easily without the extra pressure on his lungs. He turned to finally get a good look at the person he both saved and had been saved by. 

It was very obvious that he was not built to go running around with a sword and shield, his pale complexion suggesting that he spent much more time inside than physically exerting himself outdoors. Despite being burnt and raw there was a softness to the way his fingers curled in his lap, a politeness that Fel found endearing especially considering that behind them charred pig flakes were still floating around. His tunic was sewn out of a finely woven deep blue cloth that offered absolutely no protection from sharp tusks, and it was a miracle from the gods that he was even alive by the time that Fel had found him. 

Fel brushed a few loose strands of hair away from his eyes, making proper eye contact with the mage who seemed hesitant at first to reciprocate, but eventually relented. “You keep apologizing to me, but it’s not exactly like you did anything wrong or something like that. I mean jeez, at least try to stand up for yourself instead of immediately tossing your self-worth out the door. Even though I probably should be dead the only reason I’m still alive is because you threw yourself in front of me to save me, and you can count that twice for your records since you’re keeping track. Speaking of that, come over here, the least I can do to repay you is to take a look at your hands.” He gestured with his own hand for the mage to come over, surprised to see that he had actually bruised them himself in all of the ruckus. The stranger hid his hands in his lap embarrassed but with a stern look and raised eyebrow from Fel he slowly scooted over. 

Careful not to touch the exposed peeled skin he held the mage’s wrists gingerly, pulling them towards him as he drew an herbal poultice and fresh cloth bandages from a worn leather satchel by his side. The mage bit down on his lip, examining the medicine nervously. “Is it going to sting? Please be honest with me, I’d rather you tell it to me straight.”

The corner of his mouth perked up as Fel thought back to childhood memories of getting scraped up and running back home to his mother crying, asking her to patch him up through sniffles and tears. “It’s definitely gonna hurt, but you’re a brave boy, I have full faith that you’ll be able to handle it. Just don’t expect me to kiss it better afterwards.” He pulled out his waterskin and uncorked it, gently running the cool water over the mage’s hands to wash all of the dust and dirt. He let the water drip off as he washed his own hands before putting the waterskin aside, scooping out a heap of the greyish green mush from the small clay pot that thankfully hadn’t gotten shattered in the scuffle. He was about to start spreading it when the other boy interjected, startling him.

“Are you sure it’s safe though? Are you even a trained professional? That stuff might have other side effects that we don’t even know about yet. What if it slowly seeps a toxin into my bloodstream that will cause my heart to fail in the next 20 years and I drop dead in the middle of playing a game of hopscotch.” 

The anxiety was clear in his eyes, but Fel was starting to get a little impatient as he snapped back. “It’s my mom’s special recipe, so it’s all perfectly safe I guarantee. I don’t even know why you’d be playing hopscotch when you’re in your late thirties. Now, if you keep on asking so many questions it’s gonna hurt more, so just shut up for a bit and let me do my thing alright.” Leaning in a bit closer, his tongue poked out between his lips in concentration. Fel started spreading the medicine over the mage’s hands which were now pink with angry red splotches. The mage hissed in pain at the first contact, but Fel held his wrist steadily to keep him from moving around too much. The mage’s face was scrunched up as the poultice burned and tingled unpleasantly against his skin but, to his credit, despite squirming around a bit he stayed perfectly quiet. As Fel expected, his hands eventually became numb to the pain, and he didn’t need to hold the mage’s hand anymore. He still held it anyways. 

He made slow, methodical work of the operation as the lull in their conversation settled in. It took the mage a few minutes before he cleared his throat and spoke again, shifting a bit as he tried to make himself comfortable.

“So, what brought you this far into the woods? Most people stay away from here because of all of the monsters. Well, most people except me I guess.” 

Fel didn’t look up from his work as he responded, moving on to the other hand. “I live on the outskirts, hunting game and selling the extra meat and pelts for money, but a few days ago I couldn’t find any wild animals around. Of course, it’s just my luck that I’d move into an abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere, just to find out that some giant creature was stomping through the forest scaring off all the game. It took me a while to find any tracks that were recently left behind, but once I did I followed them over the course of the day and now I’m here.”

“Oh,” the mage replied, trailing off without a better response. Unsure of how to continue the conversation he went back to staring up at the clouds, waving his head back and forth to some unsung melody. 

Fel sighed, pausing for a second to look back at the mage with a relenting expression. “Alright, fine, we can talk if you want. How about you answer me this since you’re so fond of questions. You said you’re not supposed to rely on magic, but why not? No offense, but I think martial weapons are a bit out of your range of talents. If you can cast spells that can block fire and launch giant pigs almost fifteen feet into the air, why would you ever even want to touch a sword? All I’ve got is a freaking boomerang, and you saw how effective that was in the long-term.” 

The mage squinted at the hunter across from him a bit offended, but his blush at the praise forgave him. “You know I kind of wish I kept the conversation on you right about now, but I guess after everything it’s only fair that I explain myself. My father is really big on “the potential of the body”, or something like that. He says that I have the potential to be really strong, so any time I spend on learning spells is a waste to him. I keep telling him I’m practicing sword drills and keeping up with this huge workout routine he set for me, but obviously I haven’t been doing that.” He exaggerated the words by mockingly curling his biceps which, not to Fel’s surprise, were practically non-existent. “Eventually he sort of, snapped, and told me to go take out a monster with my sword and bring back the trophy. Until then, I wasn’t supposed to come back.” The mage winced, his cheek twinging. Fel was able to recognize the recollection of a memory that was more harsh than he was letting on. The mage’s gaze fell down to his hands away from Fel, leaving an unspoken “and now I’m here” hanging in the air.

Grabbing the bandages by his side, Fel started to unroll them, wrapping them around the mage’s hands starting from the wrists. While he busied himself with the gentle task he let out a low hum, thinking to himself. “So that’s what all the fuss was about then, huh. Well, frankly I think your dad’s a big flaming idiot.” The mage opened his mouth to object but Fel continued, cutting him off. “You have your own form of strength in magic. Just because it’s not the kind of strength your dad expects from you, doesn’t mean it’s not useful. He just doesn’t understand that. You like studying magic way more than swinging around a big sharp metal thing, right?”

The mage huffed, and his cheeks puffed out in an offended pout as he grumbled. “Of course I do, I’ve got an aversion to physical exercise. Spellcrafting and research has the potential to do so much more than developing my abs ever could. But still, he’s done so much for me, and taken care of me for so long. I don’t want to disappoint him.”

“What?!” Fel’s mouth was agape with shock as the bandage roll fell out of his hands. “How was anything you did back there anywhere near a disappointment? That was incredible! You have to go up to your dear old dad and tell him that you don’t need his validation and prove to him that your magic is valuable in its own way and if he doesn’t recognize that then, then, you’re the one who should be disappointed in him!” With an irritated gesture he pulled out his hunting knife and brusquely cut the end of the bandage, tying it closed around the last hand.

Able to cross his arms again, the mage pulled them close to his chest and scoffed, retorting through gritted teeth. “I don’t think it’s that simple. I appreciate your help, but my father isn’t going to change any time soon. This is just something I have to do. I doubt you would understand what that feels like, living all alone in the middle of the woods without anyone else to bother you. You must be much happier out here without parents to deal with.” 

The hunter clenched his hands, shoving the rest of his things into his satchel without a response. Standing up with a stomp, he marched over to the burnt remains of the boar and knelt down, cutting into the base of its tusks. With a few aggressive hacks he tore them off, tossing them at the bewildered mage as he watched silently from the floor. Finally, Fel turned to face the mage who was now completely taken aback, his shoulders tensed with lips pulled thin. “If you’re not gonna pull yourself together and face him, then that’s your problem. You’re out of my hands now. I got what I wanted, you got what you wanted, so just take your trophy back to your terrible dad and kiss up to him some more why don’t you?” 

Pulling himself up to his feet, the mage was completely lost, opening and closing his mouth. The words came sputtering out as he gingerly held the tusks. “I- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, that was uncalled for. It’s just, I’m not ready to confront my father yet. I don’t have the courage. I’m sorry.” 

His confession echoed into the open air, fading off in to nothingness. The silence between them prickled against Fel’s skin and he shuddered, rubbing his arm to distract himself. A gust of wind filled the space between them, scattering the ashes of the boar far off into the trees. The hunter let out a shaky breath, his dark curls fluttering with the breeze. “It’s fine, you’ve apologized enough for one day. Just do what you need to do, I hope things work out between you and your dad.” He turned to leave, following the trampled trail back to his home.

“Wait!” He heard the mage’s voice call out to him as he came running over, his shield scooped up on to his forearms. “Before you go, at least take this. My father will believe me if I just return with my sword, and you deserve some sort of compensation. I’m sure it will take a while before any animals come back. Please, just do this one last thing for me.” The silver shield was solidly built, emblazoned with a tall oak tree cast out of bronze. The leaves were split in to four segments, each section representing the progression of the seasons. Clockwise bare snowy branches faded all the way to fiery red leaves. Fel had to admit, it was a beautiful piece of work. While he wouldn’t have a use for it, if he was smart he could definitely sell it for a few gold pieces. With how empty his coin purse was…

He took the kite shield from the mage, holding it naturally by his side. Fel suddenly found it hard to speak, his words catching in the back of his throat. They stood there staring at each other, trying to figure out the person across from them, but it was no use. They knew that they were going to part ways, and that this was most likely the last time they would ever see each other. The mage’s eyes were pleading, hoping for something more, maybe another minute to explain himself, maybe a chance at redemption for his mistakes. Fel wordlessly shut him down with a turn of the head, eyes trained on the path in front of him as his grip tightened on the shield, lingering thoughts pulling his heart back. He steeled himself and pressed on, leaving the mage behind in the High Forest.


End file.
